Snatched
by allwaswell23
Summary: A missing moment in DH, set shortly after Ron's return. Hermione's dealing with mixed emotions over Ron and wanders too far from the tent, leading to a run-in with a snatcher.  Seeing Hermione in danger leads Ron to a confession. Possible, but AU.


A missing moment in DH, set shortly after Ron's return. Hermione's dealing with mixed emotions over Ron and, while hunting for mushrooms, wanders too far from the tent, leading to a run-in with a snatcher. Seeing Hermione in danger leads Ron to a confession. Loosely inspired by "I'm Sorry" by Buckcherry. This piece is dark, dealing with topics like attempted rape and vigilante murder. However, the characters are in cannon and it's not very graphic.

"Expeliarmus! Silencio!" Hermione felt the color drain from her face as she realized that the voice that shot through the forest belonged to someone unfamiliar to her. By the time her body could react it was too late. She felt her wand fly from her fingertips and her knees freeze over with fear.

"Well, well, well. Whas a pretty young thing like you doin' out in the forest all by herself? You lost, girly?" The man's voice was thick and scratchy. She wasn't lost…or was she? Hermione silently cursed herself for allowing her mind to daydream so deeply. Buried in her thoughts, she must have strayed beyond the protection of the campground without even realizing it.

Hermione forced herself to turn toward the stranger. She saw a young wizard, late twenties at most, wearing ratty clothes and covered in filth from head to toe. A lit cigarette dangled from his mouth as he spoke. His wand was aimed at her chest. Remembering Ron's story, Hermione knew she had been cornered by a snatcher and put up her hands in surrender. He ran at her, causing her to retreat until she bumped into a large tree behind her. The man came within centimeters of her face, and Hermione could smell his foul breath, laced with tobacco and firewhiskey. He reached a calloused hand to her neck, squeezing considerably. Hermione whimpered uncontrollably, although no sound was expelled from her mouth due to the silencing charm. She felt her airway constrict as the man's hand clenched. "I'm going to let you talk but if you scream I'll kill ya. Got that, girly?" Hermione nodded quickly and welcomed a large breath of oxygen following his removed hand.

The grinning snatcher took a few steps backwards and flicked his wand in a quick V pattern, lifting the silencing charm. Hermione could suddenly hear her labored breaths.

"Wha's your name, gorgeous?" He spoke in a husky voice, pulling the cigarette from his mouth and tossing it behind him.

Hermione braced herself against the mammoth tree. "Penelope Clearwater." She spoke with as much confidence as she could muster.

The man eyed her suspiciously. "Wha's your blood status?"

"Half-blood." Hermione watched as his face sagged a bit with disappointment.

"What you doin' out here? You got people nearby?" He asked, slowly looking around.

Hermione's mind began to swim. She needed to sound convincing, and bloody fast, without giving any indication that the Undesirable Number One was hidden not fifty yards away. "No, no. I'm alone. I apparated here from my home in London. My mother's very sick, you see. I've been sent by the doctor who is going to try an herbal remedy..."

The snatcher looked as if he had lost interest in her story, motioning for her to stop talking. He stepped back to Hermione, stopping, once again, uncomfortably close to her face. He grabbed her wrist forcefully, ripping the small sack from her hands. He yanked it open and looked inside, pausing dramatically as he took in the sack's contents. He grinned at Hermione, apparently satisfied with her story. Turning her bag over, the snatcher allowed the mushrooms to spill onto the forest floor.

"Please," she begged. "I need to get those back to my family." She wasn't entirely lying.

"Shut it!" He placed his hands on Hermione's hips, pushing her back against the tree. His touched caused her to choke a bit on her surprise. Once again she whimpered. "You're really all alone out here, aye?" Hermione did not answer. He looked at her like she was as dumb and misfortunate as she was beginning to feel. Her thoughts went to Harry, protecting him and their mission. A vision of his face was quickly transformed to Ron and she was overwhelmed with a desperate need to see his face.

"In that case, we shouldn't waste you, should we? You see, love…I can't sell you off, but I've been…lonely, ya see. I think you can help me with that, aye?" The man's grin grew wide as he pressed himself into Hermione. She could feel his pants pushing against her and she felt sick to her stomach. Acting on pure instinct she brought her knee up hard against his groin.

He doubled over momentarily but held Hermione firmly at the wrist. After a few moments of shallow breathing he began grinning, finding some sick enjoyment from his own pain. She felt the snatcher's tongue on her neck and his fingers fumbling at her jeans. She screamed out in an automatic response. "Hey!" He shook her viciously. "Hey, now, love. None of that, alright?" He pressed his forearm into her collarbone painfully. Hermione's vision became blurry with tears.

Although Hermione did her best to struggle against him, the large man removed her jacket easily and began to lower the straps of her tank top past her shoulders. She felt the tip of his wand in her neck like it was acid. Hermione cried out as she felt her tank top sink down to her waste, feeling the crisp air shock her skin. She brought her arms up in an attempt to shield herself.

"Don't do this…please!" Hermione whispered desperately. "I have brothers!" Hermione pictured Ron's family in her head. "Five older brothers, and they're expecting me soon. They'll come looking for me if I don't meet them!" She hoped her meager threat would cause him to change his mind.

Suddenly, the snatcher's body was ripped from Hermione's, thrown back ten feet to her right by a curse she couldn't have heard coming if she tried. She stood in shock, staring as the snatcher clawed at his ribcage in pain. Hermione felt unwilling to look up to see who had thrown the curse. Before she could regain her composure a blur charged past her and landed on top of the snatcher. In an instant, Hermione knew it was Ron.

Realizing now was her chance; she forced her mind to ignore her emotions and to sharpen. Frantically, she slid into a nearby pile of leaves, searching for her discarded wand. She felt the long, familiar wood and yanked it up from the pile, pulling herself to her feet and dashing over to Ron. She watched as he threw uncultivated punches into the snatcher's body. Ron fought with an insane fervor, producing swear words in combinations Hermione had never even heard before. With one last pathetic groan the snatcher stopped moving and Ron rolled off him, panting wildly. Hermione tried to lift her shirt back over her exposed bra but she was shaking too violently. She felt her wand slip and fall from her fingers to the padded ground below.

Ron sprang up from the forest floor, removing his coat and draping it over Hermione's shoulders. She felt Ron clasp the buttons shut and watched as he reached for her wand, tucking it carefully in his jeans next to his own. He reached for her chin, pulling her vision into his. "Mione?"

Hermione felt herself breakdown at his voice. His voice. It was beautiful and safe and if she heard no other voice for as long as she lived she would be thankful for it. She began to sob and welcomed Ron's strong arms around her. He rocked her gently but his tone carried hints of panic and rage. "Are you hurt?"

Hermione felt the build-up of adrenaline flee from her body, allotting her just enough strength to stay standing. She wanted to reply, but her labored breaths wouldn't let the words escape. Ron tilted her chin toward his face and repeated a bit more urgently, "Hermione? Are you hurt?" She shook her head quickly and without warning her body forced her to intake a large, noisy gulp of air to compensate for the breath she didn't realize she was holding. Ron sighed in relief, pushing the hair from her face. She longed to close her eyes and relax into his touch but she refused to have the snatcher out of her sight. Ron kissed her forehead and stepped quickly away, turning back toward the still-unconscious snatcher. She watched as he performed a perfect body-bind curse.

"I should bloody kill you!" Ron screamed at the man's motionless form.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Upon returning to the tent Hermione insisted on bathing. Ron had asked about half a dozen times if she felt alright and while she soaked in the tiny tub he had called to her a handful more. As much as she wanted to, Hermione didn't linger in the small bathroom. Her fear was that Ron and Harry might go out after the snatcher and she would find herself alone in the tent. Suddenly alone was not something she wanted to be right now.

Drying off quickly, she dressed in her pajamas and entered the kitchen, ringing out her sopping hair into a towel. Ron sat at the table, his back to her and his head in his hands while Harry paced the length of the room.

"You feeling better?" Harry asked, concerning flooding his face upon seeing her.

Ron's chair screamed against the floor as he stood, turning around take in the sight of her. He wanted to hug her, to kiss her, to pull her into his arms and tell her that he would protect and fight for her.

Hermione ignored Harry's question; she knew what the boys had discussed. She was confident that she could guess how their entire conversation played out; along with any conclusion they may have reached. "I don't want you to kill him." She said with as much command as she could bring forth, and yet her voice still sounded weak to her. Ron let out an exasperated sigh. "No, I don't want you to kill him, Ron." She repeated.

"He _deserves_ it, Hermione!" Ron yelled.

"I don't want that to hang on your shoulders!" she shouted back.

Ron stepped closer to her, his voice never losing volume. "Hang on my…bloody hell, there's nothing I want more right now! I'll kill the scum and sleep soundly tonight!"

"You're not thinking clearly, you're speaking from anger."

"God damn right, I'm speaking from anger!" Ron sent a glass of water across the room with one swing of his arm. "Do you know what he would have DONE to you? He's completely worthless! There's NO reason to let him live!"

Hermione felt tears well up. Watching Ron react in such a way sent waves across her body. She honored his intentions but didn't want him to have any more regrets. She looked into Harry's green eyes, desperate for support. "Harry?" she prodded.

Ron spoke before Harry could, his voice fuming. "No, dammit! He agrees with me! Besides, neither of you two know what these snatchers are capable of. I've had a run-in, remember? They're starving, desperate drifters who don't give a DAMN who they have to screw over to make a galleon!"

"A memory charm!" Hermione countered. "Wipe his memory and send him off!"

Ron growled, "Fat load that'll do! His mates'll find him and set him right in two minutes! He'd be back doing God knows what by sunup!"

Once more, Hermione looked past Ron's red face toward Harry, silently urging him for his unspoken opinion. Harry portrayed a much more even voice than Ron did, although his tone was darker than she had ever heard it before. "Thank God you were lucky, Hermione. The next person…the next girl, won't be. We aren't in normal times, people are desperate. Ron is right. We need to."

Ron straightened himself and walked to her, inches away from her face. He struggled to keep his volume below shouting and his tone under control. "This criminal _deserves_ it, Hermione. He deserves it! God, when I think about him touching you…" Ron trailed off, raking his hands through his hair roughly. "I wouldn't think twice about hurting anyone that was hurting you and I swear to God I would kill the son of a bitch who even _thought_ about doing what he was trying to do to you! If that isn't enough to make it alright then think about whoever he comes across next. Could be someone we know…Ginny."

All three hearts stopped beating temporarily at Ron's suggestion. Hermione heard Harry curse under his breath and he began gathering things into a backpack at a feverish pace. His decision had been made and, unlike Ron, he was unwilling to wait for approval from Hermione. As Harry bounced about, she and Ron were still eye to eye. Hermione felt his passion, his need to protect her. All of the anger, disappointment, and hurt she felt because of him after he left had escaped from Hermione's mind for good. She blinked, submitting to him with a small nod. He exhaled and pulled her into a crushing hug.

"Let's go!" Harry yelled toward Ron, already halfway into the darkness.

Ron kissed Hermione's forehead for a fraction of a second. He turned, lifted his wand from the tabletop and dashed out of the tent behind Harry. When she could no longer hear Ron's footsteps atop the crunchy fall leaves she extinguished all but one light in the tent and crawled below her covers. She didn't cry, she didn't smile. She refused to do anything until Ron was back at her side.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"..Mio…e…" She wasn't sure why, but she felt her body being moved slightly. "Hermione." A voice. Ron's voice, she was sure of it. And Harry moving about in the kitchen; she had become so accustomed to the noise. Then, realization. She had fallen asleep while the boys went out to deal with the snatcher.

She forced the sleepiness from her body and sat up quickly. "You alright?" she asked, concerned.

"Yea." Ron said. She studied his face, his features, and his eyes. Somehow she expected him to look different, weighted, after killing the snatcher. He didn't. He looked exactly the same. The same familiar blue eyes smiled back at her, the same lopsided smile. Ron seemed so grown up, and he was, they all were; able to deal with adult issues, make choices, and live with them.

To Hermione's surprise, Ron reached out to her and pinned a bit of her hair behind her ear tenderly. His voice was just above a whisper, "Hermione, listen…I…well I never got to say…got to _really_ say how sorry I am for leaving you and Harry….for leaving you," he added again for emphasis. Hermione tore her gaze from him and looked away, at anything else. Ron leaving seemed like forever ago, and yet a mere mention of it stung as if he had disappeared moments before. "Hey," he added tenderly, placing a hand to her cheek to steer her vision back toward him. Hermione felt uncomfortably open to him. "What can I say to make this better?"

Hermione thought for a minute, eyes glued to the blankets below her, unwilling to keep a few stray tears from falling. "Well, I…I suppose you could tell me why." She commanded. Looking up at him she added, "_Really_ tell me why."

Ron nodded slowly, knowing he would have to admit it sooner or later. Approaching footsteps broke his focus and Harry popped his head into the room. "I'm going on watch." He spoke. Ron nodded and Harry was gone in an instant.

Ron looked hesitant, as if he were reviewing all the things he wanted to include and Hermione to wondered if he had rehearsed this before now. "I'm not sure why but the locket…bullied me…targeted me I guess would the proper word for it. Maybe, it knew I was weak enough to break, I dunno but bloody hell, Hermione…the things it made me think were…." He trailed off, eyes welling up with tears. Hermione instinctively pulled him into a tight hug, running her hand along his back.

"What did you think, Ron? What thoughts did you have that could have possibly pushed you away from me?" She spoke over his shoulder. She wanted to sound tender but even she picked up on an underlying tone of accusation.

Ron inhaled deeply, causing Hermione's body to rise and fall with his. "Erm, well… Tom Riddle, he eh, came out of the locket…like a vision, Harry saw him too. He told me things, my insecurities, and said they were true and I believed him. Said Mum loved me least and wished Harry was her son instead of me."

Hermione pulled back, shocked. "But that's silly, Ron."

He shook his head, "No…it isn't. All my brothers and Ginny, they're all talented, successful, going places. Where am I going? Not to mention my best mate is the most famous wizard in history. I can't help feeling like I'll never live up to anyone. I'm always second to someone, you know?" Ron wiped at his eyes, forcing back the tears that threatened. He cleared his throat loudly. "Don't get me wrong, I was never distraught. It was just something that was there, in the back of my mind. Until the locket it brought it front and center. It made me feel like I had nobody rooting for me, except you."

Hermione nodded, hoping to add a few words of sympathy but Ron continued. "But he took you away too, Riddle did. You see I've always…well I hope you didn't…" Hermione's knees went numb as Ron's voice began to quiver. She felt her heart breaking at his words. "Dammit." Ron swore, wiping at the tears now escaping down his cheeks. Hermione pulled him back into a hug, burying her face in his warm neck.

"It's alright, Ron. You don't have to tell anymore. I think I understand."

"No, no. You deserve to know, Hermione. I want you to know." He took another few breaths and began again, his words coming much more evenly now. He took her hand and looked into her eyes. "Well, I'm a bloody idiot and I guess I've always hoped that you and I…well, I mean that maybe you would be interested in me like I'm interested in you. But, I mean…any girl in her right mind wouldn't choose me when Harry Potter is well, right out there." He threw his head in the direction of the tent's entrance. "You're beautiful and brilliant and he's bloody brilliant and I'm…well…"

"Ron..." she protested.

He ignored her. "When I came back, before I destroyed the locket, Riddle showed me a vision of you and Harry together. You told me I was stupid for thinking I could be with you and you were kissing Harry and I….I just went cold. The world became sort of….empty. It was what I had been worried about the whole time, come true." He swiped at his wet face once more. "But I was able to destroy the locket because I thought…I _think,_" he corrected, "that I can accept if you'd want to be with Harry, or any other lucky bloke that isn't me because…well, seeing you with him" he motioned toward where Harry was, "is better than not knowing if you are safe. I'm not strong enough to handle that."

They sat in silence for a moment, the only sound was Hermione's hand gently rubbing his back. Ron's voice reverberated in her chest when he finally spoke again, still wrapped in her embrace. "I missed you the second I left, and I missed you more and more every day. I was going crazy, Hermione. Nothing was the same without you." His voice stumbled over the anger he still felt toward himself. "I was a right idiot for blaming you, for saying that you chose Harry over me as if it were a bad thing. I had no right to say that to you, locket or no locket. Every night I thought about you crying. I _still_ think about it and it kills me. I'm sorry. I know that doesn't make it better and, as much as I want to, I can't ever take it back. But I would if I could. I'm so sorry."

He sniffed over her shoulder and Hermione felt her eyes welling over with tears. She thought about how badly she missed Ron all those weeks, unknowing that he was trying so hard to find his way back to her. Even now, as she held him in her arms, the painful memories were enough to sink her heart through the floor. She squeezed him tighter, unable to hide the fact that she was now crying. She buried her face into Ron's neck, her features crinkled up from her tears. "Hermione…don't cry, please." Ron pleaded, retightening his grip around her. "I hate myself for all the times I've made you cry. I swear there won't be any more sad tears because of me, alright?"

Hermione pulled away from him and nodded slowly. Hermione was done for, she couldn't help it. Suddenly Ron's departure seemed somehow explicable and it made her a million pounds lighter. She stayed quiet, trying to gather her thoughts. Ron was admitting that he had feelings for her. It was everything she wanted to hear from him for three years now. She spoke in a tiny voice. "You really think I'm beautiful?"

Ron smiled through his tears, squeezing her hand. "I know you are. You're the most beautiful woman I've ever seen."

"Why didn't you tell me this before? About the locket and…how you feel?"

Ron ran and hand through his hair and paused for a second before dropping it over his heart. "Everything in here," he tapped his muscular chest, "knows what I should say to you but…it never comes out properly."

She smiled and after a moment she let out a tiny laugh, "Just so you know, I _don't_ want to be with Harry. He like…well, he's like my brother. And I'm pretty sure he's still in love with your sister."

"Am I like your brother too, then?" Ron spoke quietly.

"No." She answered without hesitation. "You've never been like my brother. Ron, you have so many people in this world who love you and think you're an amazing man…myself included."

It was Ron's turn to laugh sarcastically. "Yeah, well, now you know how I feel and I'm sure you think I'm a right git for wanting to be with you and I know this isn't the proper time for all this and I damn well wish I could have told you how I feel…well, with less crying. But you had to know the truth, Mione. What Riddle made me believe…well, it was the only way I could have ever left you. I won't ever forgive myself."

Hermione ran a hand through his hair, bringing it to rest upon his broad shoulder. "I understand why you did what you did and I'm glad you told me. Don't ever leave me again, got that?" Ron nodded silently. "And you're not a git. I…I don't care what anyone tells you, I want you near me all the time. I'd choose you over anyone else on the planet; over Krum, over Harry."

Ron looked flabbergasted and Hermione showed off a smirk that quickly died, "But you're right about now not being the proper time for… for this. We can't do that to Harry. He would tell us he's fine with it but we just can't."

"Yea, I know." Ron said sadly, stroking her palm.

Hermione's voice remained shaky with emotion. "But just because we _can't_ start something right now doesn't mean I don't want to. It's been this way for years. I want to be with you, Ron."

Ron looked at her as if he heard her wrong. "Really? You…you do?"

Hermione smiled, "Of course. I thought it was rather obvious."

"Like I said…I'm a git."

Hermione swiped at him playfully and Ron, showing off his quick Keeper reflexes, grabbed her arm, keeping her close to him. They both fell silent and Hermione felt herself gulp, her face so close to his. "I want to kiss you, Hermione." Ron's voice was deep and steady and Hermione knew it would be the death of her. She racked her brain for the voice of reason she desperately needed. Once again, Ron tucked a stray curl behind her ear, only this time his hand settled on her cheek and Hermione saw the desire in his eyes.

"Ron." She breathed. She was impressed to see him pull back slightly, waiting for her to finish her sentence. Obviously he had a bit more control than she did right now. "We can't." She whispered sadly. "I don't trust myself. If we start now, if you kiss me I…I don't know if I'll be able to stop kissing you."

"Would that be so bad?" Ron whispered into her ear.

"No…it would be amazing but…" Hermione's thoughts were erased as Ron began to nuzzle her neck. She felt her knees go ice cold and her stomach go warm and she let a small moan escape her lips before she could stop it. To her agonizing relief he paused and Hermione could tell his brain was arguing with a more personal area of his body, just as she was. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry about that. Knowing how you feel about me makes me want to…it's hard to control myself…but I know I have to, for Harry. He gently pulled her back down onto her cot, bringing up the blankets and squeezing himself behind her. "You'd really consider being with me one day?"

She giggled and snuggled against his warm body, "Ron, I would consider it _this_ day if it weren't for this mess we are in."

"Alright, then… so now we focus on fighting the Dark Lord …but understand that all of this… I'm in it for you…for us. So we can have a proper go at it. I'll be fighting so I can snog the hell out of you as soon as it's over." Hermione felt her stomach do tiny flip-flops at his statement. She closed her eyes and relaxed deeper against him.

In the silence, Hermione's brain began running through scenarios. How long would they be on this journey? Several months? Years? What if they were still trekking the countryside on her fortieth birthday? Surely that was a possibility, but waiting that long to be with Ron was not. "I'm not sure I can wait until it's over," she spoke suddenly.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, everyone thinks I have this iron will and, of course I'm going to give it my all, but we could be at this a long time."

"Yeah."

"I'm just saying, there's may come a point where…" she trailed off, turning pink.

"And…if you were to cave prematurely? Should I remind you of what we just decided?"

"I'm not sure. I guess whatever feels right."

Ron placed a kiss on Hermione's temple and pulled the light from the room into his deluminator.


End file.
